Watch the video below for all the action, and read on for The Rhode Show article.

While the sun rises over a tranquil Mount Hope Bay, the action underneath is anything but. It is striped bass season in Rhode Island and for local fisherman, it doesn’t get much better than this.

“The season we are in here is big time stripe bass. Beautiful fish. Twelve to 15 pound range fish are the ones we want to take home. Those are the best for grilling or roasting in the oven,” said one of The Rhode Show’s resident chefs, Jonathan Cambra of Newport Restaurant Group .

“The passion of bringing it to the plate, that’s really what it is, the catching the fish and being out here early morning, understanding the water, the bay, and our ocean,” added Cambra.

On this trip Chef Jon took to the water with long time friend and Charter Captain Billy Silvia of ‘Can’t Imagine Sport Fishing. The two men have fished Narragansett Bay for years.

“I’m 35 years old. I’ve been fishing them since I was a little guy and I really got back into the past 10 years because of the conservation of the regulation of the stripe bass,” said Cambra.

And it doesn’t take long to see the conservation efforts at work. The morning of the outing on the water, live pogies do the trick. It’s one beautiful fish after another. All well over the regulation size 28 inches.

“It really makes it for a fun, filled experience. It’s not all about pulling it into the boat. It’s about the challenge of getting it into the boat the right way, not beating the fish up, feeling the fish, understanding what it is doing in the water, and hopefully you can bring it in at the end.” We need to not forget where our food is coming from.”

Cambra has some advice for fellow fishermen out there.

“Narragansett Bay really brings us some special fish and our duty is to do the best with that fish, take care of it, ice it down, get it back into the land.”

“We currently are harvesting lots of different lettuces, green beans, sunburst squash, zucchini, patty pan squash, all kinds of herbs, swiss chard, and kale. Castle Hill’s team pulled garlic from the field today; it is currently drying and is beautiful. Soon to come will be many varieties of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, red, white, and yellow onions, along with many other late summer vegetables.”

…Even more to look forward to!

Ingredients (yields 4 portions)
1 strip of apple wood smoked bacon
1 5 oz filet
1 lobster tail
5 fingerling potatoes
4oz of green beans
30 oz butter
2 garlic cloves (smashed)
oil as needed

Steps:
1. Place three pots of water on the stove to boil for the, lobster tail, potatoes and green beans
2. Salt water for flavor
3. Make an ice bath for those three ingredients
4. When water is boiling place into to cook
5. Lobster tail will take 7 minutes (when done place into ice bath to stop the cooking process, follow the same step with 6 and 7)
6. Green beans will take 2 minutes
7. Potatoes will take 15 minutes
8. Lay the bacon flat and wrap the filet ( pre heat grill)
9. Place the filet on the grill to start cooking
10. Take the smashed garlic and place into a sauté pan and lightly brown
11. Add in the beans and cook for 1 minute season with salt and pepper
12. Heat the butter in a suate pan on low heat and place lobster tail meat side down to heat

Castle Hill’s Chef Jon was featured Cultivating Life with Sean Conway,  a weekly television series that aims to prove “reconnecting to the land is as easy as stepping out your back door.” Sounds like Chef Jon and Sean’s culinary philosophies have much in common.  Whether Chef is incorporating herbs and vegetables from the Castle Hill garden into his dishes or taking a fishing trip out in Narragansett Bay to catch fresh striper for dinner that night, he (quite literally) uses his backyard for culinary exploration and inspiration.

Watch the video above as Chef shows Sean how to make the quintessential New England dish, Clam Chowder.  To quote Cultivating Life, “The flavors in his version are clean, and rely on the best of his main ingredients for the flavor, bacon, onions, home grown potatoes and Quahogs harvested from the beaches nearby.”  Sounds like the celebrated approach each of our Newport Restaurant Group chefs take when creating a dish – relying on freshness and local flavors to leave a lasting impression.

Speaking of our Newport Restaurant Group family carrying on the New England Clam Chowder tradition, we have a bit of boasting to do.  At the Knorr Great Chowder Cook-Off held at the Newport Yachting Center on June 5th, chowder enthusiasts tasted various recipes from 29 different restaurants and voted on who they felt made the best Clam, Seafood, and Creative Chowders. The Boat House took home top honors for their Creative Chowder, and Waterman Grille won bronze in the same category.  Hemenway’s Seafood Grille & Oyster Bar secured second place in the largest category, Clam, as a first time entrant.  We are ecstatic that the hard work of our culinary teams was recognized at what is considered by most the premiere chowder tasting event in the country!

…Hungry yet? You can make Chef Jon’s scrumptious clam chowder on your own. Just visit here for the recipe!

We’re cooking Scallop Chowder with Chef Michael Conetta from The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar.

Yield: 5 gallons

Ingredients:

3 lbs. butter solids
3.5 lbs. all purpose flour
1 medium bain marie diced onion
4 gallons cold water
1.5 lbs. clam base
1 qt. white wine
2 cups fresh, chopped parsley
1/2 cup dried dill
20 each bay leaves
12 oz. clam broth
desired amount of scallops

Steps:

1. In heavy bottomed large stock pot, melt butter over medium flame.
2. Add onions and sauté until translucent.
3. Add parsley and dill, stir well.
4. Add flour and make roux. Cook 5 minutes over low flame, stirring constantly. Let cool.
5. In a light gauge 40 qt stock pot, add water, wine, bay leaves, clam broth and clam base. Incorporate all ingredients before placing on flame. Bring to a boil and simmer.
6. Add liquid to roux, insuring to stir well to avoid lumps.
7. Bring to a gentle simmer and then cool in a n ice bath.
8. Wrap. Label. Date.

When reheating, whisk in desired amount of half & half. Slowly poach desired amount of scallops in chowder till firm.

If this doesn’t spark an appetite, I don’t know what will. We are back just about one year later from our first dinner and are more than pleased to report on another successful Long Trail Beer Dinner at Castle Hill. A special thank you to our great group of guests who attended, and our host Brandon Mayes of Long Trail who did a fantastic job leading the dinner. The culinary team at Castle Hill out-did themselves again. How can you go wrong with the perfectly brewed beers of local Long Trail, coupled with crafted local cuisine featured on the menu, created by Executive Chef Jonathan Cambra.  Click below to read on about the dinner and the beers.

The evening began with a reception of passed hors d’oeuvres including Simmons Farm Pork Corn Dog with cranberry mustard, Venison Chile with winter spiced sour cream, Mac & Cheese Strudel with Shelburne Cheddar béchamel, Chicken & Biscuits with Kenyon’s cornmeal fried quail and chourico gravy, and half-shelled Matunuck Oysters with an ale mignonette, all paired with Long Trail Ale, a full-bodied amber ale featuring a complex yet clean and full flavor, and the light and refreshing Blackberry Wheat.

The dinner’s first course of Georges Bank Monkfish was served with winter vegetable slaw, tempura white anchovy, and sun dried tomato vinaigrette, and paired with the cloudy and golden Winter White Ale, featuring aromas of orange, coriander, nutmeg, ginger, and spices.

The second course featured Pork & Clams: Simmons Farm pork and native clams with new potato, parsley, and tomato, paired with the Long Trail IPA, brewed in the tradition of the British IPA, unfiltered with extra hops and a higher strength.

A dish of Broken Arrow Ranch Antelope followed, served with butternut squash hash, parsnip puree, poached apple, a huckleberry emulsion, and the robust Long Trail Hibernator, featuring malty flavors of wheat, chocolate, and caramel.

The dinner’s fourth course featured locally raised grass-fed Aquidneck Farms Beef Rib Eye with Edge goat cheese-stuffed potato, mushroom ragout, and ancho chile reduction, paired with the Long Trail Double Bag, a full-bodied and dark amber selection.

The evening concluded with Portuguese Sweetbread Pudding with donut custard, molasses ice cream, and porter anglaise, served with the limited-release Imperial Porter. Featuring a complex and darkly roasted malt flavor complemented by a thin, creamy head, the Imperial Porter offers an abundance of two-row, Cara Munich, caramel 80L, wheat, roasted barley, and chocolate malts which are balanced with a variety of hops to create a clean finish.

Cheers to another outstanding event!

Eggnog Creme Brulee, from the Newport Restaurant Group:

Ingredients

Heavy cream……………….. 1qrt 
nutmeg……………………….3/4 tsp 
cinnamon…………………….3/4 tsp 
ginger………………………… 1/4tsp 
salt ……………………………..1tblsp 
lemon juice………………………1tsp 
Rum………………………………1tblsp 
Brandy…………………………….1tblsp 
Eggs yolks………………….. ¾ cup 
Sugar ………………………..3/4 cup

Procedure

Place heavy cream into a sauce pan. 
Add all spices and liquor. 
Bring to a simmer. 
Mix eggs and sugar together. 
Slowly temper the cream mixture into the eggs. 
Pour into a ramekin. 
Place ramekin into a water bath and bake at 300 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. 
Take out of water bath and cool. 
When cold cover the top with sugar in the raw and torch till the sugar has caramelized.